Researchers are exploring the potential of tiny robots to navigate through blood vessels, providing innovative solutions for medical challenges such as breaking up clots, delivering targeted chemotherapy, and repairing ruptured blood vessels. A team at the University of Maryland Bioinspired Advanced Manufacturing Laboratory has developed a soft robot catheter that brings these groundbreaking treatment methods closer to fruition.
Professor Ryan Sochol explained that vascular surgeons sought a new micro catheter capable of actively navigating through blood vessels with the ability to bend on demand. His team utilized a 3D micro-printer to create this robot, combining multiple microscopic balloons, each as thin as a human hair, into a tube comparable in width to a grain of rice. “When you start to inflate one of the balloons,” Sochol noted, “you bend the tube in the opposite direction.”
The current gold standard for procedures like aneurysm repairs involves using a static metal wire that is manually bent before being inserted into the body. Sochol pointed out that this method is inefficient, particularly when encountering curves or blockages along the way.
Soft robots, which employ flexible, deformable structures, are particularly suited for surgical applications, as highlighted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. They thrive in uncertain environments, whether it involves picking up objects of various sizes or maneuvering over uneven surfaces. These materials are also ideal for more imaginative concepts like self-healing and replicating robots.
Sochol”s team collaborated with Axel Krieger, a specialist in robotic surgery from Johns Hopkins University, on this project, which received support from the National Institutes of Health through a $2.5 million grant. The design was inspired by discussions with medical professionals, where they identified unmet needs in their fields. “We engage with surgeons and specialists, asking them to express what tools they need to overcome significant challenges,” Sochol stated.
Since the project”s inception in 2022, the team has expanded these discussions to include specialists in cancer treatment, allowing for robots that can be customized for specific tasks and tailored to individual patient needs. “Imagine if, instead of administering chemotherapy to the entire body, you could target the blood vessel supplying a specific tumor,” Sochol suggested.
Preparations are underway for early-stage studies with the Food and Drug Administration to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of this new technology. Surgical robots have been enhancing operating room capabilities for over a decade, providing improved flexibility and precision compared to traditional methods, as noted by the Mayo Clinic. These robots allow surgeons to operate via small incisions, facilitating faster recovery times.
In June, Johns Hopkins made headlines when a trained autonomous robotic surgeon performed a realistic simulated surgery on a lifelike model for the first time, executing most of a gallbladder removal procedure with minimal human intervention, responding only to voice commands from the research team.
Sochol also indicated that automation might enable the catheter robot to navigate autonomously and provide care by utilizing a comprehensive map of a patient”s blood vessels. “It would be akin to using Google Maps or Waze while driving,” he explained.
